Asked by reporters ahead of the second day of the NATO summit what level of allied forces in Poland would be sufficient to deter Russia, Rutte said Poland has "basically already achieved all the goals" and is currently reforming its armed forces.
"You know that the United States is strongly engaged in Poland's affairs. We have heard this from every important politician in the US. But of course we have to make sure we are as strong as possible", he said.
One of the summit's key topics is member states' commitment, made at last year's summit in The Hague, to spend 5% of GDP on defense by 2035 — a target the United States has been especially insistent on. Rutte said the U.S. remains fully committed to NATO but expects Europeans and Canadians to match American defense spending levels.
"For the US to be safe, it needs a safe Atlantic, Europe and Arctic ... The expectation was, and is, that Europeans and Canadians will match their spending with the United States, which I believe — and many colleagues in the room believe — is entirely fair", he said. Rutte noted that in 2026, combining core defense spending with defense-related expenditures, Canada and Europe reached 4% of GDP in defense spending.
"Given that spending is rising and so much money is now flowing in, and noting that we must maintain support for Ukraine, I think the main challenge yesterday and today is defense industrial production. Because ultimately you cannot defend yourself with dollars, pounds, euros or liras here in Turkey. You have to defend yourself with men and women in uniform. They need to be recruited, and defense industry production is needed", he said.
Rutte also outlined his expectations for the summit's final declaration, saying he expects allies to reaffirm that Iran should never possess nuclear capability, to uphold freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, and to jointly reaffirm that Russia poses a long-term threat to alliance territory.
"The last summit in The Hague focused on planning and setting targets. It was about money, about industry, and of course about continuing our support for Ukraine. This summit, as I have always said, is about implementation, about getting things done. Looking at the numbers — USD 258 billion spent additionally in 2025 and 2026 by allies from Canada and Europe — that is staggering", he said.
Asked what his message was for Russia and Vladimir Putin, Rutte said the alliance will defend every inch of its territory and cannot be defeated. "We are defensive, we will never attack anyone. We will only defend our way of life, our democracy, our territory. So don't mess with us, don't play games with us", Rutte said.
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Source: PAP